Means for recording sounds.



116.856,553. PATENNED JUNE 11, 1907.

W. L; STILWELL.

MEANS EOE RECORDING SOUNDS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.19.1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 856,553. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

W. L. STILWELL. I MEANS-FOR RECORDING SOUNDS APPLICATION' FILED; PEB. 19.1907.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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narran lstradina Parana onirica WAYNE LAWRENCE sTiLwaLI-i, or MILLERSBURG, onio.

MEANS Font-reconnue@ sonnes.

specification of Letters Patent.`

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed February 19, 1907. Serial No. 358,221.

ments in a means for recording sounds, and

its 'object is to fproduce aphotographic record 1n the -form o a sinuous line of even width representing sound Waves, the record being of the ytype known as a gramophone record, be

ing distinguished romthe .bead-like photogra hic records of the'graphophone type.

he invention consists essentially of a ,recording sound box carryin'g a light producing unit attached to the diaphragm 'of the sound box, with a light directing means maintained at a constant distance Jfrom the photographic film and capable of .being vibrated with the dia hragm to direct a light beam of constant wi th` and, intensity upon a photographic film so asto produce thereon a sinuous line of y sound box remains even Width representing sound waves, along which line the sensitive emulsion-1s affected In accordance with this invention there is va relative movement between the sound box and sensitivefilm and either or both may be moved but by 'reference the film is mounted upon a movab e su port or carrier and the Having produced the photographic record of the sound Waves, the sensitive surface may be developed in any of the well known ways and from the negative `thus obtained, and which may be treated as a master record, matrices may be made by etching in a suitable metal and using the die thus obtained for impressing suitable compositions under heat and ressure, or relief plates may be made byrt e chrome-gelatin orl chrome-albumen processes and the reproduction may be'made directly from such relief4 lates.

' The invention will be fu ly understood from the following detailed description taken -in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical cross section through a sound box equippedwith myinvention; and Fig. 2 is a face view, partly in section, of the same.

Referring to the'drawings, there is shown sound box.

a sound box head 1 of usual construction carrying a diaphragm 2 of mica or glass or any other suitable material for the purpose, which diaphragm is supported at its edges between two gastlets 3 of rubber, paper, or other elastic or non-resonant material, and is retained in place by a peripheral layer 4 ol wax or other suitable material.

lThe manner of securing the diaphragm is that commonly employed for a graphophone sound box, but the manner of securing the diaphragm by a metal clamp ring7 as practiced with the gramophone type of sound box, may be equally wellemployed, it only being necessary that the parts to be hereinafter de- 'i scribed be sha ed to iit the different types of l`he sound-conveying neck 5 may be attached to the sound-intensifier 6 and to the carrying parts of the recording machine in the usual manner, which need not be here described and is not shown in the drawmg.

A record receiving tablet 7 isA indicated. This tablet may be in the forni oi" a glass plate with ay sensitivesurface, 'after the manner of ordinary sensitized photographic plates, or it ,may be in the form of an ordinary photo-v graphic film and, in practice, will be supported upon a suitable tablet carrier either as a rotary flat table or, if desired, a cylind-rical-mandrel, in which latter case the sensitive photographic .surface will be cylindrical in form.

Fast upon the sound box head, being secured thereto by screws 8, is a plate E.) extending diametrically across theliacc ol the sound 'box parallel to the diaphragm and terminatinginascrewsocket l0 adjacent to but not quite reaching'thecenter oi the diaphragm.

This socket may be internally threaded to receive the yordinary Edison type ol lamp base 11, as shown in the drawings, or it may be constructed to receive lamp bases of any 'other desired type. The base 11 lcarries an incandescent lamp bulb 12 such as is commonly used in connection with surgical exploring instruments, and is of the tipless type, the bulb being in the form ol an clon` gated cylinder with a dome-shaped end.

Surrounding the lamp is an opaque casing 13 having its upper end internally threaded to engage the lamp base and be thereby supported. The other or lower end ol this casingis formed into a neck le having a conthe neck 14.

'Contained within the bulbous extensions 17 of the 'neck 14 Visa funnel 18 having its point directed downward and pierced by a line axial opening '19 which may be almostv or quite capillary in size, and the upiper or base portion of this funnel lsurroun s and receives the contracted portion 15 of the neck 14. This funnel is carried by the lower` end of an arm 20 passing through a slot 21 in the bulbous extension 17 ofthe neck 14. The arm 2O lies parallel with the diaphragm 2 and extends diametrically across the same, being connected to said diaphragm by a stud 22, 'and is secured at its upper. end to the plate 9 through interposed elastic cushions 23.

The lower end of the funnel 18 is brought' into close (proximity withthe sensitive 'film to beacte upon, and, in fact, it is brought as close to the Hlm as possible without touching the same. I

When va sound is uttered against the dia-` phragm 2 the latter is set in vibration and through the stud 22 the arm 2O sets the funnel 18 into corresponding vibrations, but7 as will readily be seen, the arm 20, acting as a lever of the third order, will cause4 an ampliication of the vibrations reaching the funnel 418, which is free to move within the bulbous hood or extension 17l without making contact with the walls of the same. Now, light radiating from the lament of the lamp. finds escape only through the opening 16 at the lower end of the opaque casing 13 and is directed through the minute opening 19 as a beam of light, having practically parallel rays, upon 'the sensitive film. In modern practice and especially with records of the gramophone type, this beam of light need not exceed 1./ 300 of an inch in width, and as the records usually run about one hundred lines to the inch, the extent of vibration of the beam of light need not be more 1 100 of an inch in amplitude. Y i

Since there is no frictional contact between the lower end of the funnel and the sensitive film and since the funnel and its supporting arm may be made very light, there 1s practi-l callyno damping effect upon the sound waves and no extraneous noises are generated, as happens when there is contact between a recording styhis and the recording surface\ For this reason the over-tones are very faithfully recorded and may be as faithfully reproduced without being obscured or smothered by noises extraneousto the recorded sounds. The result is that records produced in this manner a proach with great faithfulness the original) quality of the sounds recorded.

In order'to convey current to the lamp,

staats l the plate 9,is extended to one side of .the sound box and is there formed into a head 24 of which maybe in metallic contact with the head 24, and, therefore,l conductively connected with the socket head 10 receiving the base of the lam While the other binding post 25\ is separate from the head24 by an insulating washer 27. T he binding post'25 path of the central conducting stud 29 of the lamp base 11. A suitable source of current, indicated byV the battery 30,. will be coupled to the binding 'post and vthereby cause the filament of the lamp to glow.

, lt will be understood, of course, that the record must be made in non-actinic light; lat least, the sensitive film must be protected from the action of light except where reached by the beam of `light coming through the opening 19 ofthe funnel 18.

From the foregoing it will be seerf that. the funnel 18 vibrate'sparallel withv the sensitive between this film and the sound box, whether produced vby the bodily movement of the sound box or of the film lor of both, the light beam will affect the sensitive plate along a sinuous path, the sinuosities of which correspond to sound waves, and that this path Will always be of even width.

as a blackened sinuous line of even width in the photographic film. There are numerous ways of producing copies or the record so made, which record may be treated as a masphoto-etching in a suitable metal and to use this etching as a die by means of which record copies may be made in any of the well known compositions which soften under heat. so that lthe'copies may be made by pressing the die into the heated and thereby softened material, which is cooled and hardened and thus retains an accurate copy of the die, which copy may be reproduced by any of the known re producing machines on the market. Again, afpositive copy of the master record chrome-albumen process, thus producing a which groove will extend down through the gelatin or albumen surfaceto the glass support upon which this'snrface may be carried, and the reproducing stylus running on the hard`smooth surface of the glass will impart practically no extraneous noise to the reproducing diaphragm. By either-of thesev processes the finer vibrations of high notes andthe vibrations corresponding to overtones are neither lost nor'slnothered out by extraneous noisesfand the quality and naturalness of the original sounds are found in receiving two binding posts 25-26'the latter carries a contact spring 28 carried into the Having thus produced a record, the sensi-` tive film may be developed in any of the well v known Ways and the record will then appear groove corresponding to the sound record,v

film and when there is a relative movement IOO ter record. One of these ways is to make a v IIO may be made by the chrome-gelatin or the-reproductions from records made inaccordance with this invention.

I1claim:--

' `1..In a sound recording mechanism, a 5 sound box, a source of actimc light carried l thereby, means for directing said light against .a photo-sensitive surface, and means for causing said light to move in a sinuous path' .along said photo-sensitive surface in accordio rance with sound waves.

2. In a sound-recording mechanism, a

soundbox a' source of actinicflight carried thereby, a sound-receiving diaphragm, and

f means for directing said l' ht against apho- U' i5 @graphically-sensitive snr acc in' a direction latright angles to the plane of said diaphragm and-for'causing said light to move along said photo-sensitive surface in a sinuoiis path in a plane parallel with ,the plane of Vibration of 2o said diaphragm under` the action of sound Waves.

3. In a sound recording mechanism, a

source of actinic light carried bythe sound ,2 5 box, anda light directing member coacting with the source of light and connected to and `\-constraine'd' by the diaphragm to direct light bansupon aphotographic surface in accord-l ance with sound Waves iirminging on said dia- .go phragm.

lsound box a diaphragm carried thereby, an

electric lamp 'carried by said sound box, an. opaque casing for the electric lamp havingl a light passage, Van arm attached to the sound box, and a light conveyer in line with said light passage and carried by said arm.

5. In a sound recording mechanism, a sound box, a diaphragm carried thereby, an electric lamp carried by said Isound box, electric circuit terminals carried by said sound box and connected with said lamp, an opaque shield for said lamp having a' light opening, an arm attached' to said ldiapliragm,'and a light directing member having an opening for projecting a beam'of light upon apliotoesensitive surface `and carried bysaid arm, said light projecting member being constrained by the movement of the diaphragm tomove i -path corresponding to sound waves.

sound box, a diaphragm carried'- thereby, a

, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as` my own, I have hereto afhxed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WAY-NE LAWRENCE s fiiLwiiLi..

Witnesses.

CARL SCHULER, WELLINGTON SrriLWiiLL. 

